


The Blue Dress

by Hayhays97



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Angst, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff, Slight Smut, beginning spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2017-08-14
Packaged: 2018-12-15 06:21:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11800233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hayhays97/pseuds/Hayhays97
Summary: Evelyn finds an old dress that reminds her of one Nate once bought for her. She remembers the time she'd worn it and the last night she'd spent with her husband.





	The Blue Dress

**Author's Note:**

> So I picked at this over a few days a while back and I liked the idea but there wasn't enough too it. It's been two months now and I've finally nailed down something. Enjoy and thanks for reading!

Evelyn stood at the end of the bed, staring down at the dress she found stuffed in one of the old chests scattered around the deserted town. Her fingers brushed the blue fabric and it sent a chill through her as she recalled the dress she'd once owned. The same shade of blue with the same white flowers with delicate yellow centres and the same frilled collar and sleeves. Of course it wasn't the same, and it wasn't just the missing red wine stain on the collar or the fact it didn't smell like Nate's aftershave. The dress was from a far off part of her life she often forgot existed.

With a moments hesitation she picked it up and stood in front of the cracked mirror holding the dress up before her. She didn't even recognise the person who would have once wore it. Her once always tidy and pinned up hair had been chopped short and felt straw like from all the weather exposure. She once never left the house dressed in anything other than respectable and sophisticated now she was donning looted boots and pants and an old coat taken from a dead raider. She wasn't Evelyn from Concord with the white picket fence life anymore, she was the Soul Survivor, fighting day by day in the bitter remnants of the world. She'd long since accepted this new life, took on what was thrown at her from the minute she dragged herself from the vault. But as she stood, taking in the flashback of her old life Evelyn let herself drift into nostalgia of the one time she'd worn the blue dress.

Nate had bought it after seeing the small white flowers adorning it, she'd always said she'd loved white flowers, so pretty and pure and Nate had chosen blue as his favourite colour because he swore it always looked prettier on her.   
And so he caught her upon arriving home from a stroll with Shaun,  
"I have a surprise for you." He'd said, his eyes sparkling with excitement as she spotted the large white box on the kitchen bench beside him.  
Evelyn smiled, picking Shaun up out of his stroller and moving to join Nate "what's the occasion?"  
He reached for her free hand to tug her closer "do I need one? Now open it." She rolled her eyes but obeyed, handing the baby to Nate, he watched her eagerly as she tugged at the red ribbon. She remembered her gasp at the beautiful dress laid neatly in the box, with its white lace detail on the collar and pearly white buttons that she imagined trailed the length of the dress.  
"Nate, it's beautiful." She breathed, gently pulling it from the box and holding it up to her body, a hand extending down to hold out the skirt, it was perfect to go dancing in.  
"I walked past it yesterday. I couldn't imagine it looking nicer on anyone else."   
Evelyn smiled at him, before admiring the flowing fabric that fell just below her knees.  
"You shouldn't have."  
"You needed something to wear." Nate left her side to place Shaun in his bassinet by the couch, the baby cooing at the mobile that spun slowly in the breeze from the open window.  
"To where?"  
Nate walked back to her, his hands settling on her waist, gently tilting her from side to side "Codsworth is going to look after Shaun tonight and you and I are going out dancing."  
"But Codsworth has looked after him twice this week, we can't make him do it again."  
The robot appeared from one of the rooms, a feather duster sweeping at the framed pictures on the walls as he passed "don't be absurd, mum. You kids go and have a good time."  
Evelyn frowned at the butler "are you sure, Codsworth?"   
"Of course! I'd be happy to look after the baby."   
"Come on, honey. You haven't danced in so long."  
He was right, since Shaun, Evelyn hadn't had the time, and between caring for Shaun and working, her and Nate hadn't had much alone time either. So she smiled, meeting her husband's hopeful eyes and nodded "alright then, we'll go dancing."

That was the last night they'd had out together before the nuclear fallout. And she couldn't have asked for a better night. She emerged from the bedroom, the beautiful dress swirling around her knees, her favourite white heels tapping on the floorboards, alerting Nate, who turned, fingers freezing on his cuff links as he took in the sight of his wife before him. Evelyn stopped, suddenly self conscious as Nate smiled at her. She felt seventeen again, when she'd met Nate by his car on their first date.  
"Wow." He breathed, "I was not wrong about that dress." Nate held out a hand to gesture her closer, he laced his fingers through hers and encouraged her to turn slowly before pulling her into his arms. He kissed her softly, letting his arms twine around her waist to hold her against him. Evelyn sighed into the kiss, arms wrapping around his neck but Nate groaned and stepped back "there'll be time for that later. Right now we have a dinner reservation to get to."   
Nate took her hand and led her towards the door "we're leaving, Codsworth. We shouldn't be too late."  
Codsworth sped out from Shaun's room "well you two look wonderful! Have a good evening. I will take perfect care of the baby."  
"Thankyou again." Evelyn smiled as they shut the front door behind them.

Evelyn's heart jumped painfully as she began slowly swaying the dress in the mirror. Oh, how they'd danced that night. Having barely finished their dinner and a bottle of wine down, Nate had pulled her on to the dance floor, a lopsided grin lighting up his face as he'd taken her hand in his and spun and dipped and danced with her. Their dance moves were not lost in their slight intoxication and Nate's laugh was honey to her ears as they danced faster and faster, the world distorting and falling away around her. The dress was amazing for dancing, as they had both thought, it fanned out around her when Nate spun her away from him, Evelyn becoming a dizzying blur of blue fabric and red hair.

The couple had stumbled home that night, a few hours late and a few drinks too many. Teenagers again, as they tried to let themselves in the house, loud whispers and hushed giggles as they navigated through the darkened halls to the bedroom.  
Evelyn glanced at the dress, still held up before her, this one didn't have the single button that had been roughly sewed back on with bright yellow thread instead of white, after Nate had tugged at the buttons a little too hard and ripped it clean off in his drunken attempt to free Evelyn from the confines of the dress. His lips froze against her neck when he realised what he'd done as the pearl button bounced across the floor. Evelyn stopped mid moan and narrowed her eyes "you didn't-"   
But Nate quickly recovered and silenced the beginning of her lecture by kissing her hard, swallowing the rest of her sentence. Evelyn had moved her hands to try and help him, but he gently batted them away and pushed her back on the bed instead, lips still against hers while his fingers pulled at the dress. She'd bit his lip in scolding, muttering against his mouth about "making it worse". Accepting defeat, his warm hands instead chased the skin that appeared as Evelyn undid each button, she sighed when the dress fell open and his lips were against her chest, her fingers fumbling as he went lower with each kiss. Evelyn pulled her arms from the dress and reached for Nate, pulling him back up till his mouth and body were back on hers, his hands never lingering on one part of her skin for too long. She felt blindly for the bottom of his shirt, not wanting to deal with buttons again, she pulled it up over his head, Nate sat up to help toss the shirt aside and fell back over her, hands braced on either side of her head. He leaned close to her, his lips brushing against hers "god, I love you, Evie." He breathed, and Evelyn smiled at the slight hitch in his breathe when she ran her finger tips up and down his sides.   
"I love you too." She whispered, hands moving to tangle in his hair she pulled him down to kiss her, slowly and deliberately, with no traces of the alcohol that had laced their movements only a few minutes ago.

"Evelyn-"   
The familiar voice tore Evelyn from her thoughts, she blinked hard, fighting away the tears that she hadn't known were there as she remembered where she was. In the wasteland, where Nate was dead, she could not dance because of constant injuries and this dress was not hers. She glanced at the blue dress one last time and took a deep breathe, finally meeting Valentine's gaze in the mirror from where he was leaning against the doorway. "Sorry, did you say something, Val?"  
The synth frowned, stepping into the house "You alright, Ev?"   
She turned and smiled, tossing the dress on the bed "I'm fine, just thinking. Were we ready to go?"  
Valentine still didn't look convinced, but nodded "If you're not feeling up to it-"  
Evelyn shook her head, slapping Valentine on the shoulder as she walked past "let's go."


End file.
